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Slice of Life: Just Saying Hello

(This is for the Slice of Life challenge, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. We write on Tuesdays about the small moments in the larger perspective … or is that the larger perspective in the smaller moments? You write, too.

I was shuffling papers, trying to find something. I had a meeting in an hour.

“Mr. H.”

I held up a give-me-a-sec gesture. The paper seemed important in that moment. The voice, a distraction.

“Mr. H?”

I stopped, looked up. She had come in from recess, all smiles. She bounced on the heels of her feet.

“Yes?”

“Hi!”

“Hi.”

“I just wanted to say hello. Hi!”

She added a wave. I chuckled.

“Thank you. Hi!”

“Thank you! You’re welcome!”

She scooted off, skipping a bit, and I started to go back to my task of paper-finding, smiling to myself about the curious nature of kids, and the impact of kindness.

Peace (in the moment),
Kevin

PS — a version of this was also shared as a small story in another space.

Proof that one of the biggest impacts we have on our students is our relationship with them. One of the joys of being a school librarian is getting to work with every single student in the building. The hellos in the hallway make me feel like a superstar. And they are a sign that I must be doing something right. 🙂

It’s taking a moment to listen, no matter how busy you are. It’s making eye contact to demonstrate your attentiveness. It’s allowing another soul to share a space in time with you, no matter how brief. That’s what it means to be a teacher.